Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 14, 1992                   TAG: 9203140133
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

GAME WAS A CAREER LOWLIGHT FOR STITH

Stith suffered the worst shooting game of his career Friday afternoon as the Cavaliers lost to Georgia Tech 68-56 in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament at the Charlotte Coliseum.

Stith had scored 28 and 25 points in a pair of regular-season losses to the Yellow Jackets, but he needed two field goals in the final 2:18 to score in double figures for the 48th game in a row.

"Every time Bryant Stith was going to catch the ball or put the ball on the floor, there had to be two Georgia Tech players there," Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Cremins said. "We had no other choice."

Stith hit his first shot, a 3-pointer, then made just one of his next 17 before two late stickbacks.

"I think I was taking good shots; I'd take the same shots again," Stith said. "Obviously, when you take 22 shots, you're not shy.

"When you're a shooter, you have to have the mentality that the next shot is going [to go in]. If I could, I'd go out there right now and play another 40 minutes."

Stith's worst previous shooting performance was when he was 3-of-15 at Georgia Tech last year, the last time he did not score in double figures.

"I think, if you look at his offensive rebounds, you can see he was trying to find ways to put some points on the board," UVa coach Jeff Jones said, "but his shots weren't going in and he wasn't getting to the free-throw line."

Stith had career highs for offensive rebounds (10) and assists (seven) and his total rebounds (13) were a season high. He had 15 rebounds against Duke as a sophomore.

"I thought we were reaching our peak," said Stith in reference to the three-game winning streak UVa carried into the game. "I thought we played very hard, but it's tough when you can't put the ball in the basket."

Stith wasn't alone. Freshman point guard Cory Alexander was 4-of-19 from the field, and the Cavaliers shot 24.7 percent from the field, the worst in more than 20 years.

"I got frustrated," said Stith, who had 12 points, giving him 2,393 for his career. "When you know you're a pretty good shooter and things aren't going well, I think that's only human nature."

Stith is shooting nearly 49 percent for his career, but was 40-of-115 (34.7 percent) in six ACC Tournament games, 18-of-61 the last two years.

"It didn't feel much different other than I didn't have the touch to get the ball in the hole," Stith said, "[but] I would feel much worse if this was my last game."

It is almost certain that Virginia (15-13) will be extended an invitation to postseason play, either to the NCAA or to the National Invitation Tournament. "I don't think we're going to the NIT," Stith said.

Keywords:
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